Headlights
by lisbonandjanealways
Summary: What would have happened if Rigsby transferred out of the CBI so he could be with Grace? Warning: Character death involoved. No copyright infringement intended.


**SUMMARY: The hardships that Grace and Wayne face while trying to keep their relationship going. Warning: character death involved.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

They had known about the rules.

They knew that it was against CBI regulations to have a sexual relationship with a member of the same team. They knew they shouldn't be together. They knew it was wrong. They knew of the consequences.

They didn't listen.

Everyone found out. Including Lisbon and Hightower.

Now, they were stuck in a heartbreaking dilemma, and there was no way out. They had a choice to make. A choice with two unbearable options.

Option one: One of them is transferred out of the unit. Each of them loved this job. They loved the people on the team. They loved the excitement, the adrenaline. They loved how they were heroes. They saved lives, brought justice to the surface for so many mourning, broken families. They were the good guys. They got rid of the bad guys.

Option two: They stopped seeing each other. How could they do it? They were in love. They had fun together. They laughed together. They had a great time. They loved being with each other. They were perfect together.

It was a guaranteed heartbreak either way.

XXXX

They chose option number one.

Wayne Rigsby transferred out of the CBI. He transferred to a unit in San Francisco. It was only an hour and a half away, so he could still be with Grace. That's what he wanted. He wanted to be with Grace. Not that he preferred to not work in the CBI unit. He didn't like leaving his best friend behind. Cho was always there for him, even if he didn't say anything or show even a speck of emotion. He liked his boss. She was tough, determined, and a good role model. She made a great agent. He wished he could have the willpower to be like her. As much as he hated to admit it, he enjoyed Jane's company. He was entertaining, pulling impossible tricks that Rigsby never understood.

Then, there was Grace. Wayne didn't like to be apart from her. He liked having her around. He liked working with her. He liked the frequent glances across the bullpen, followed by flirtatious smiles. He loved her, and wished he could work with her.

But that's why he left. He loved her. He wanted to be with her.

What scared him was that she was somewhat-willing to terminate their relationship. She said she loved the job more than him. She would rather stay with the job that with him. His heart shattered, so he transferred for her.

XXXX

She wished they had never fallen for each other.

Of course, she still loved him. But the dilemma that they had been in broke her heart. It was such a difficult choice. There was her dream job that she had worked towards her entire life, and then there was the man she loved. She hadn't meant to fall for him. It just happened. It shouldn't have happened.

Wayne had transferred to a unit in San Francisco. It wasn't that far away. So why did it seem like it was a million miles?

XXXX

Grace met O'Laughlin.

It was no more than a month after Wayne transferred.

Craig O'Laughlin worked for the FBI. Ivy League, degree in criminology, black belt. Handsome, too. He was kind. He was smart.

Grace fell for him.

She'd never felt so guilty in her entire life. Wayne Rigsby had given up his career at the CBI for her, so he could be with her. He loved her, and she loved him, too.

But O'Laughlin made her fall, and he caught her.

XXXX

She was in love with someone else.

And he found out from _Cho._

He was sitting in his apartment, watching TV when the phone started ringing. He jumped up to get it, hoping it was Grace. He missed her. He hadn't seen her in a week. When he called, she didn't answer. Was she avoiding him?

But it wasn't Grace on the phone. It was Cho.

"Rigsby, I need to talk to you."

Cho told him everything. He told him about Craig O'Laughlin. He told him that Grace was falling for him. Cho apologized for having to tell him this. Grace was procrastinating. She was dreading having to tell Rigsby, according to Cho. Everyone told her she should tell him. She would just shake her head and make up an excuse. "I can't hurt him."

She was in love with someone else.

Rigsby hung up the phone with Cho, completely dumbstruck and heartbroken. How could she do this? After everything they've been through, everything he's done for her? He loved her more than anything. She meant the world to him. He thought that he meant the world to her. That's how it used to be.

Rigsby grabbed his coat and headed out the door, tears streaking down his face. He got in his car, blinking the tears away, wiping them from his cheeks. He started the car, backing out of the driveway.

He had done everything he could to keep Grace in his life. He wouldn't lose her now.

But a drunk driver sped around the corner. Rigsby didn't see the car coming.

It cut him short on not only his mission to go win Grace's heart, but it cut him short on his life.

XXXX

She never got a chance to explain.

She hated herself. She loathed herself. She wanted to _die._

She had let herself fall for someone else. Someone who was not Wayne. Wayne was perfect for her. She took it for granted. She'd dodged every opportunity she had to tell him. Cho and Lisbon and Jane all tried to convince her to tell Wayne the truth. _It'll be best for both of you, _they would say. But she didn't listen. She never listened these days.

He was coming to see her. He was coming to try to win her back. She didn't deserve someone who tried to win her back when he did absolutely nothing wrong. That drunk driver took him out when he was most vulnerable. Forensics say his cheeks were stained with dried tears.

He had been crying over her when he died.

She never got the chance to explain.

She never got to tell him how much she really loved him. She never got the chance to tell him that falling for Craig was an honest mistake. She hadn't meant to. It was an accident. He'd taken her by surprise with his charms and good looks. Before she knew it, she was falling. It was absolutely no excuse.

She never got to tell Wayne that she wanted him to move on. Not for her; for him. She was hurting him in more ways than one. He'd left his job for her. He'd found out through someone who was _not her_ that she was falling in love with somebody else.

She never got the chance to explain, because headlights and beeping horns had filled the streets, and in a split second, he was gone.

**Thanks for reading.**


End file.
